Cable enclosures are essential components in data- and telecommunications networks. Enclosures may be provided at various locations in a network, including at the ingress and egress to a building (either inside or outside the building) and at interconnection points within the network, e.g., on a telephone pole or in a utility box. Cables may be routed into and out of the enclosure through openings typically provided in an enclosure cover. In addition to cables, interconnection hardware, electronic devices, circuits, etc., may also be contained within an enclosure. Regardless of where an enclosure is located (i.e., inside or outside), it is desirable to seal the enclosure to prevent exposure of the interior compartment of the enclosure and its contents to undesirable and potentially damaging environmental conditions (e.g., moisture, caustic materials, particular matter, etc.).
A grommet or other sealing device is typically provided at an opening in the enclosure cover to provide a partial seal of that opening when a cable, for example, as routed through the opening. However, such sealing devices do not provide sufficient sealing to ensure the integrity of the interior environment against damaging environmental conditions. A shape-adaptive part such as, for example, heat-shrink tubing, may be placed around the cable at the ingress/egress point and around the grommet to further seal the enclosure opening. However, that solution is time-consuming and also may not necessarily guarantee a consistent and reliable seal.
There thus exists a need for a cable sealing device that overcomes the above-described shortcomings of the prior art.